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Concentration of elements in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) needles as a function of needles’ age

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Abstract

Changes in the content of Cd, Ni, Pb, Zn, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ca, P, K, and N in six age classes of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) needles were described as a function of the needles’ age. The raw measurements of each element’s concentration were standardized at the level of an individual tree; such a procedure reduced the variability caused by differences in the absolute content of an element between individual trees. The changes in the content of Fe at both sites, and of Pb and Cd at one site were characterized by linear increase. The content of N, P, K, and Mg decreased exponentially, whereas the concentrations of Ca, Mn, and Zn increased exponentially with the needles’ age at all sites. Only the concentration of Ni revealed erratic behavior at both sites.

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to two anonymous reviewers whose comments helped me to significantly improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecological Station, Institute of Plant Biology, Wrocław University, pl Maksa Borna 9, 50-328, Wrocław, Poland

    Tomasz H. Szymura

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  1. Tomasz H. Szymura
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Correspondence to Tomasz H. Szymura.

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Communicated by R. Matyssek.

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Szymura, T.H. Concentration of elements in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) needles as a function of needles’ age. Trees 23, 211–217 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-008-0268-x

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